Company History

The Early Years: Original Building 1956-1994

The seed that grew into Vista Industrial Products, Inc. was sown in 1956 in a large garage in Vista, California by Kurt Horst Ackermann. Before Kurt began his manufacturing career, he was an entrepreneur in several diverse industries including photo finishing in 1950, selling backpack crop dusters, and even egg ranching! Kurt ran in the first mayoral election for the City of Vista.

His manufacturing career got off to a rocky start when his first and second companies were sold, respectively. Nevertheless, in 1967 Kurt formed Vista Industrial Products and never looked back. By the end of the sixties, VIP and the Ackermann family were producing a range of products, from vending machines to exercise equipment to kitchen accessories and even countertop water softeners. By the time VIP was incorporated in 1975, the company had already created an impressive resume by working with well-established companies and manufacturing a wide range of products, including such notable customers as General Atomics and Hughes Aircraft Company. In 1981, VIP began aggressively adopting emerging automation technology by purchasing the first CNC turret punch in San Diego County and an autoloader in 1986. In that the same year, Kurt H. promoted his son, Kurt George, to President of VIP, and is still President today.

The Growing Years: 1994-2000

VIP has continued to grow and expand ever since, and in 1994 the company moved from Kurt H.'s garage to a new 50,000 square foot facility.

The Developing Years: 2000 - Present

During the Dot Com boom, VIP expanded more rapidly than ever, and in 2000 moved a few blocks down the street to the current 153,000 square foot facility. Our continuing commitment to quality led us to become ISO 9000 certified in 2004; a certification which we maintain to the present day. We have a full-fledged machine shop, paint shop, and plating shop in-house allowing us to provide a complete fabrication solution to our customers. Our current workforce consists of approximately 180 employees with two shifts per day. VIP has proven to be a company of diverse nature throughout the years. The main industries that we cater to best include the medical, bio-tech, defense, high technology, aerospace, commercial, and retail sectors. Contributions to these industries include the original design development for the Pyxis product line and becoming an approved supplier for Cardinal Health, Overland Data, and OnCore to only name a few. Vista Industrial has received multiple awards on the Pyxis product line and awarded “Best in Class: Mechanical” in 2004. The key to VIP’s past, present, and future success is summarized in the company’s motto: